The EU to award those who ensure “inclusiveness and equality”

Last modification: 30/07/2018

In 2018, the European Commission launched for the first time ever a European Sustainability Award to reward the efforts and creativity of European people, businesses and organisations. For this year’s edition, the theme of the award is “Empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality”.

The deadline for applications is the 14 September 2018.

According with the European Commission, the ambition of this award is that of “championing inspiring cases of initiatives that are turning the global Sustainable Development Goals into concrete solutions and opportunities.”

Given the cross-cutting nature of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Sustainability Award focuses on a specific theme, linked to the annual theme chosen by the High Level Political Forum of the United Nations.

Even if the theme is specific and includes a cluster of goals, initiatives which apply for the European Sustainability Award will have to address the three dimensions of sustainable development (Environmental, Economic, Social).

The competition is open to four stakeholder categories:

Youth;

Public bodies;

Private bodies;

Civil society.

The winners will be announced by the European Commission First-Vice President Frans Timmermans and Vice-President Jyrki Katainen during a high-level ceremony in spring 2019. The award is immaterial and brings high visibility in the form of renewed public interest and increased media coverage.